Category: Artists Village

It’s been a long time since I’ve dedicated any comments to arts related matters in Santa Ana. But with the Arts & Culture Master Plan being developed this week through a series of meetings seeking community input, there’s been plenty to talk about. In fact, there hasn’t been enoug time to talk about everything, so… Read More The Arte Santa Ana Podcast Resurges on Soundcloud

I took my first guitar lessons at Pedrini’s Music near Fourth & Main streets in the downtown. Pedrini’s has been gone for a long time now, over ten years it seems. In it’s place now is a beauty academy. I remember going to Pedrini’s as a kid also, for school band related music necessities like… Read More Remembering Pedrini’s

Years ago, going back 20 years or so, there was a music store named Samara Musical on the corner of 1st & Broadway streets in Downtown Santa Ana. I acquired some of the rarest imported cds there, and not just anything, but really impacting, life-changing music. It’s sounds like an exaggeration but it’s true. Samara… Read More Remembering Samara Musical

The Santora has always been a source of inspiration for my creative process. She’s a beauty. I even titled one of my guitar compostions La Santora. One of my earliest recollections of going to the Santora dates back to ’97 or ’98, when the Neutral Grounds coffee shop was still there. That now is Lola… Read More Nights at the Santora

Art is tied to politics. Some of the greatest works of art have messages tied to all kinds of political topics including social justice, economic disparity, economic policies and history, just to name very few topics. Politics are not only present in visual art, where they perhaps are most evident, but also in musical art.… Read More Commentary: Arts in Politics and Vice Versa

Oliver Zavala and yours truly present the Arte Santa Ana podcast. In it we go over Latino arts in Santa Ana and beyond, with related issues. In episode 1 we talk arts in the downtown, business, demographics, folk, pop and high culture, and more. For more visit http://www.arte-santa-ana.org Coming soon to iTunes. Available through RSS… Read More The Arte Santa Ana Podcast is Now Live